


Hidden Places

by 2shytheshippy



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-17
Packaged: 2018-04-21 05:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4816358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2shytheshippy/pseuds/2shytheshippy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Your love was sent to me. I'm not sure what to do with it, or where to put it. I'm so close to tears and so close to simply calling you up. I'm simply suggesting: we go to the hidden place [...] And I can smell a pinch of hope. To almost have allowed once fingers--to stroke. The fingers I was given to touch with. But careful, careful: there lies my passion, hidden..There lies my love. I'll hide it under a blanket. Lull it to sleep, I'll keep it in a hidden place" - Bjork, Hidden Place</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Places

“I want to weep. I want to be comforted. I’m so tired of being strong. I want to be foolish and frightened for once. Just for a small while, that’s all…a day…an hour.”  
-Catelyn Stark

I.

“Robb,” Jeyne sighed, and then placed kisses on her husband’s back as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “When are you going to tell your family about us?”

Robb groaned, and then harshly rubbed his forehead. “I’m going to tell them; I just don’t know how.”

“Why don’t I come along with you tonight and you can introduce me to them then,” she suggested before placing another loving kiss on his back. “I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”

For a moment, Robb gave her suggestion some thought. He wanted her words to be true, but he highly doubted that everything would be fine. Although he wasn’t officially engaged to Walder Frey’s daughter, Walda (one of many Walda’s), it was just about a sure thing that he and Walda would marry. Robb had never dated the girl, but they did spend time together and went out to dinners, societal parties, and the opera often. Walda was a quiet girl, but very nice and incredibly beautiful unlike her other female siblings. He didn’t mean to be shallow, but the Freys weren’t much of a family to look at, generally speaking.

Robb couldn’t over the absurdity that he had a betrothal in the first place; it was so outdated, but this was how the Westeros worked. Westeros was a collection of families from powerful cities who believed families with old money shouldn’t marry outside of their class and “nobility”. Although the prerequisite for marrying into a Westeros family was having old money and nobility, in addition to having powerful and lucrative businesses, marriages were usually chosen based on political gain and/or damage control. His parents were paired off because it was advantageous for the Stark and Tully families, but, luckily for them, they fell in love at first sight. So, Robb figured that it was both love and political scheming that got them together. Then, there was aunt Lyanna—it took years to for Westeros to get over what she did.

At the same time, it was hypocritical of him to criticize Westeros for the “matchmaking” techniques and the out datedness of it. He married Jeyne to keep her honor intact after it was discovered that she was pregnant and so he wouldn’t cause a scandal as well, which ironically, will create a scandal due to his formerly impending marriage to Walda. Between the two, a broken engagement was less of a scandal than a knocked up noble girl. Before this, Robb had planned to go through with the marriage to Walda Frey when Jeyne revealed that she was with child. Although Westeros’ society wasn’t strict about a woman being a virgin when married, they, at least, wanted no evidence of her indiscretions whether they were physical or gossiped about. A persons reputation, especially a woman’s, was very important.

So, Robb married her to keep her honor intact. Despite Robb not being in love with Jeyne, he was growing awfully fond of her as well as very affectionate. He believed that he could love her one-day and it wouldn’t be only because she was the mother of his unborn child.

As selfish as it sounded, he was happy that Jeyne hadn’t made a fuss about him not telling his family yet. Sure, she asked and suggested how and when he would tell them, but she wasn’t upset or arguing with him about his silence on the matter, which he was eternally grateful for. This weekend wasn’t the right time to tell his mother about his new wife and soon to be child. It was a reality he was still getting used to himself and he wouldn’t know how to explain himself to his mother when she asked because she would. Catelyn would get to the bottom of the situation, and then be disappointed in him. “Family. Duty. Honor,” she would say. “Now, repeat it back to me.” And she would expect him to be the best husband and father he could be to his wife and unborn child. She wouldn’t like it, but in her mind, what was done was done and it was time to move forward.

Another thing that would upset her was that she hadn’t been there to see Robb get married. It was something she talked about as soon as Robb started dating in middle school and even when he left for college. He remembered his mom being so excited talking about the idea of seeing Robb walk down the aisle and exchange vows with his future wife. Although she was excited to see all of her kids get married, it was a little different with Robb; he was her first child and almost all of her parenting methods was learned through trial and error with him. It was almost like a passing of the torch to see him cement his vows with the woman he was going to create a family with. 

But, Robb had eloped instead. 

He doubted that a reception or second wedding ceremony would make her just as happy. 

“No,” he said before gently unwrapping Jeyne’s arms from around his body before standing up. Robb paced back and forward as he contemplated his dilemma. “I don’t even know how to tell her yet and I don’t just want to show up with a pregnant wife; it might give her the wrong idea.”

Jeyne pulled the covers up and wrapped them tightly around her body.

“Like what?”

“Like she’s not important to me anymore—that I don’t care about her and don’t want her to be apart of my life,” Robb stated.

A part of Jeyne wanted to laugh at, what she perceived to be; Robb’s overreaction, but she saw how much it upset her husband. “Robb, kids our age elope all of the time; it mostly has nothing to do with not caring what their parents think, but rather, being unable to wait to be with the person you love or wanting to avoid the disappointment of your parents if they don’t approve of the person you love—not because you don’t love your parents anymore,” she reasoned. “If I did show up with you to your parents house and you introduced me as your wife, wouldn’t it say that you want to share important parts of your life with her?”

“Jeyne, you don’t understand how my mother works.” In response, Jeyne gave him a look that indicated it was his fault that she didn’t. “She takes all this society crap seriously. On my mother’s side of the family, the Tully side, the family words are: Family. Duty. Honor—she takes that to heart. That’s in addition to Westeros society, which my mother also adheres by.” Robb ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t even begin to imagine just how disappointment she will be.”

“No, she won’t, Robb,” Jeyne disagreed. “I don’t know much about your mother, but from what you have told me, she’s loves you and will understand why you did what you did.”

Jeyne tightly grasped the covers around herself as she got up and hugged Robb. She placed a kiss on his cheek before placing another on his mouth. Robb reluctantly returned the kiss.

“When I come back this weekend, we’ll discuss how to break it to her about our marriage,” he said offhandedly as he walked to the bathroom.

Later on, as Robb drove to his parents house, he contemplated the circumstances that led to Jeyne getting pregnant and them getting married. He had spent his winter break volunteering for Habitat for Humanity by helping build houses for the unfortunate. A few days before break ended, he had found out that his uncle Ned had gotten into a car accident. A drunk driver hit him head on and his car had been totaled beyond recognition. Robb got the call as he was finishing up one of the houses and immediately rushed home once he heard the news.

When he arrived at the hospital, the doctor informed him that his uncle had a low chance of making it through the night, but he did. They then put him in a medically induced coma for two weeks to which his doctor explained was for the “protection and control of the pressure dynamics of the brain." Despite his uncle almost losing his life, after he got out of the coma, the doctors said that the worst was over and that Ned could make a full recovery. 

Before the prognosis of a full recovery, Robb was completely and utterly distraught. His grief, at times, was intense and overwhelming, which reflected the emotional status his brothers and sisters and even his mother as well. Ned Stark was a huge fixture in their family. He was a second father to him and his siblings; if they were going through anything or an important event was going on, Ned was present for the most part. He even would help out with homework, taught them how to play sports, showed up for games, were a shoulder to lean, and so much more.

Robb could understand why their mother was inconsolable, she and Ned were close and he practically helped her raise his brother’s children since his father was a busy man. Catelyn went to the hospital everyday after the kids left for school and returned home so that she was in time for when her kids arrived home.

His father was hardly home. He immersed himself in work and, the times he was home, he spent it alone drinking. But, Robb knew better—he father wasn’t working all of the hours he claimed; he was cheating on his mother with other women, which was the norm for him.

A huge shadow was cast over the Stark family. Arya spent most of her time being angry. Bran withdrew to himself. Rickon clung to their mother even more. And Sansa kept to herself, which spent most of the time crying.

At the hospital, he and Jon spoke and it was obvious the affect Ned’s accident had on Jon. His cousin brooded most of the time while he was there and had a hard time articulating how he felt. Occasionally, Jon lashed out and screamed before breaking down and crying. Ned was also an important part of Jon’s life as well. 

Lyanna and Benjen tried to remain strong, but their misery was written all over their faces. 

Robb couldn’t take being home any longer and went back to school. While he had been home, Jeyne called and check on him everyday. Since she was volunteering with Habit for Humanity as well and they were working together; she had been there when he first got the call about his uncle. Jeyne continued to offer her support when he went home. In Robb’s mind, it was only natural to seek her out as a means of comfort, despite that not being his intention when he went to her apartment after he got back to campus.

A few weeks later, Jeyne told him that she was pregnant.

Robb brushed his thoughts off and went into the florist shop that he parked his car in front of. After the man handed him the flowers he pre-ordered, Robb gave him a generous tip and made his way home.

After his uncle was released from the hospital, Brandon told his brother that he was staying at his house because the family didn’t want him being alone for hours at his own home. Ned argued that he could hire nurses to come in check on periodically, which Brandon countered. In simple terms, Brandon laid out that since Catelyn was a stay at home mom, he would have someone to spend quality time with and talk to just so he’d never get lonely. If anything ever happened while the nurses weren’t there, Ned wouldn’t be by himself. Furthermore, he would get to spend even more time with his nieces and nephews, which were like his own kids. It went without saying that the brothers would get to spend more time together, despite working with one another.

That was six months ago. 

Robb opened the front door and walked into the spacious, extravagant foyer. There were two sets of staircases on both the left and the right that met up in the middle. The railing was a light mahogany that had been hand crafted with intricate patterns with matching flooring. The walls were painted an off white and there was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Sparse, but tasteful pieces of art decorated the wall.

The oldest Stark sibling made his way through the foyer in order to get to the kitchen. He knew he would find his mother there because it was around the time she discussed dinner plans with the cooks. The dinner menu was always planned a week in advance, but Catelyn wanted to make sure that everything was in order. Other times, she had made a last minute change.

As he approached the kitchen, Robb could hear his mother talking to the cooks and double-checking to make sure she had heard them clearly. His mother liked to be clear regarding what she said and what she heard so that there was never any confusion.

“Vivian,” his mother called. “Hold on a moment; I‘m not sure whether I want to change dessert or not, so don’t prepare for it just yet.”

“Sure thing, Mrs. Stark,” Vivian replied. “Is there anything else?”

“I don’t believe so,” she replied. “But, if I think of anything, I’ll find you.”

Catelyn gave Vivian gave smile before looking away that indicated to the young woman she was dismissed.

Robb knocked on the wall and said, “Excuse me, Mrs. Stark, may I have a moment?”

In surprise, Catelyn turned to her eldest son and immediately rushed to him. Before his mom reached him, Robb moved the flowers out of the way.

“Robb!” The woman tightly hugged Robb as a way to express how much she missed her son.

“When did you get into town,” she inquired, and then gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Robb smiled at the motherly affection.

“Just now,” he said. He moved the flowers in front of her. “I got you something.”

Catelyn took the flowers and stared at her son’s gift with gratitude.

“You got me water lilies?” She inspected them appreciatively. “They look like they are from Riverrun?”

Robb smiled at her.

“They are,” she exclaimed joyously.

Riverrun was known for their beautiful flowers, especially their water lilies. It fondly reminded Catelyn of home and her childhood.

“Thank you, Robb,” she tightly hugged her son again. “You are so thoughtful.”

“Anything for you, mother,” Robb said genuinely and Catelyn brightly smiled in response.

Catelyn sat the water lilies on the counter, and then turned to her son.

“So, what are you doing in home,” she asked as she straightened up some papers. “Are you just visiting or do you have some business to attend to?”

As they spoke, the two sat side by side on the stools that were placed in front of the island. Robb caught her up with school and his internship; he explained that the first few weeks back at school were difficult and that he had wanted to be by himself, but his friends refused to allow Robb to wallow in his grief. His professors gave him extra time to complete his assignments and were very understanding. The organization that he was interning for gave him some time off and didn’t pressure him about coming back.

Robb explained that he found it hard to be at home around his family because of the overall moodiness of the household was too much to deal with. 

“But, how is uncle Ned doing anyways?” Robb looked into the hallway as if Ned was going to walk through. “Is he here?”

“Yes,” Catelyn answered. “But, he’s about to leave in a bit.”

Robb gave her a questioning glance.

“He’s going for a jog,” she explained. “His body is getting stronger and he has to keep it in shape.”

“That’s great!” Robb ran a hand through his hair a few times. “Other than that, how is he doing?”

“Pretty well.” Catelyn got up and put on a pot of coffee. “You know your uncle,” she said as she took out three cups. “He focuses on the present and just keeps marching forward.”

Involuntarily, Robb nodded in agreement. His uncle was a pretty straightforward guy when it came to emotions and business, but he was a great man—an upstanding and honorable man. It was a shame that he didn’t have a family of his own to go home to at night or support and love him overall. Although Robb saw his uncle like a second father and believed Ned saw Brandon’s kids as his own, he figured that Ned would’ve wanted his own family. “Why hasn’t he ever gotten married,” Robb asked curiously.

A glass cup crashed to the ground, which Robb jumped at the unexpected noise. “Shit,” Catelyn mumbled. Immediately, she got a broom and dustpan to clean up her mess. “Sorry about that, I sat the mug too close to the edge.”

Robb went over to help his mother clean up the broken glass.

“I don’t know, Robb,” she said in a low tone as an answer to his earlier question. Carefully, she swept up the glass. “Gods know, that your father has been hell bent on fixing Ned up with someone.” She threw the glass away in the trashcan next to her. “Why do you ask?”

“Nothing,” he exhaled. “I just—I just couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if uncle Ned had been married with kids, you know?” Robb extended a hand to help his mother up. “I was absolutely devastated and I’m only his nephew; just thinking about what his kids would have felt or even his wife for that matter. I know uncle Ned would make a great father; he practically a second father to me, and come on, there’s just no way he wouldn’t be a great husband as well. Why does he insist on being lonely?”

“Ned isn’t lonely,” Catelyn defended as she grabbed another cup and filled the cups with coffee. “He’s alone, but he’s not lonely; there’s a difference.” She gave her son a meaningful look. “Besides, I think he sees you and your siblings as his own, which is why he’s content with his life and that is enough for him.”

In contemplation, Robb rubbed his hands together. “I mean, doesn’t he want his own biological kids? Wouldn’t that be even more satisfying than being just an uncle?”

“Robb, I think you are forgetting that some people don’t want kids,” his mother provided. “They are comfortable with being aunts and uncles and even though they are childless, their lives are still meaningful. Perhaps, Ned doesn’t want kids, have you ever thought about that?”

“How can uncle Ned see us as one of his own, but doesn’t want kids?” Robb took his cup of coffee and briefly blew on it to cool it down. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Catelyn crossed her arms, and then leaned against the counter. “Robb, then I don’t know what to tell you, you know that your uncle is a private man. Maybe he wants kids, maybe he doesn’t. And just because we don’t know about a girl he might be dating, doesn’t mean that there isn’t one.”

“Come on, mom, if uncle Ned was dating someone, she would’ve shown up to the hospital and we both know that,” Robb argued. “Do you think he has been pining for Ashara all of these years?”

For a fleeting moment, his mother looked startled before asking, “How do you know about Ashara?”

“I asked aunt Lyanna and uncle Ben if uncle Ned had ever been in any serious relationships and they mentioned her as his first and last serious girlfriend. Dad told me about her briefly as well.” 

A few months before the accident, Robb inquired about his uncle’s dating life. Those he asked explained that Ned was once engaged to a woman named Ashara Dayne, but that she ended the engagement and Ned hadn’t brought a woman home to the family since then. Before that, Ned had introduced his family to two or three women, but they didn’t date, despite his family believing that Ned was interested in them. 

Ned’s siblings were surprised that their brother was engaged to a woman like Ashara let alone the fact that he managed to snag her in the first place. Ned and Ashara were like night and day; she incredibly attractive and he was average looking; she was outgoing and full of life and Ned was withdrawn and reserved. They said that opposites attracted, but it was hard for his family to fathom that they were even together.

Abruptly, Ashara called off the engagement and moved away. Her explanation was that she and Ned were two different people with two different wants and needs and that she needed something similar to herself. After that, Ned never brought any women home, if there were other women.

Lyanna said that Ned had insecurities that were further cemented when Ashara broke up with him and that, since then; he had been unable to overcome them. He had never been good with women, and Ashara broke his heart beyond repair by calling off the engagement. Ned believed that he wasn’t good enough.

“I couldn’t say for sure one way or another. Your uncle and I didn’t talk much back then and he hasn’t brought her up in years; I would be the last person to know.” Offhandedly, she added, “Besides, Ned is a busy man, even if he had time to date, his work schedule leaves little time to actually invest in a relationship.”

“It doesn’t seem to be a problem for you and Dad,” he shot back with a hint of defiance.

Silence filled the room momentarily. “Robb, commitment, relationships, marriage—they’re all about sacrifice. Very few women can invest in relationships with busy men. I understood what I was getting into when I first married your father.”

Robb snorted. “Did you?”

“Excuse me?” Catelyn was taken aback by her son’s implication. 

“Is that who I think it is?” A familiar voice interrupted.

Robb got of out of his chair and rushed to hug his uncle. “Hey, uncle Ned.”

“Hey, yourself, kiddo,” Ned put a hand on his nephew’s head, and then pulled him back in for a hug. “I though I heard your voice down here.”

“Yeah, mom and I were just talking about you,” he said while hugging his uncle tighter.

“Oh, really,” he grinned at his nephew, and then his sister in law. “About what?”

“Nothing,” Catelyn dismissed as she handed her brother in law a cup of coffee at which he raised an eyebrow. “You’re predictable, Ned.” 

He shot her an odd glance that Robb couldn’t decipher, but that his mother seemed to perfectly understand. 

“That I am,” he conceded, and then turned to Robb. “Is my life really so boring that it is considered nothing?” Ned grinned before taking a sip of his coffee.

“Nothing was being generous,” Robb responded and a hearty laugh erupted from the older man’s chest. “No, I was curious as to why a woman hasn’t already snagged up a dashing young man such as yourself and given you lots of babies.”

Ned’s grin slightly faltered at Robb’s words. His grey eyes became clouded and a pensive expression told ahold of his face. Robb wondered what his aunt said about Ashara breaking Ned’s heart was true. The topic seemed to make Ned uncomfortable in general. His father had explained to Robb that his brother had never been good with women—he had asked out Ashara in place of Ned who was too shy and nervous to even approach her himself. Although Ashara had agreed to go out with Ned, it surprised his family that something long term came of it.

It was odd for Robb view his uncle as shy and insecure. Around the family, he was a sociable and loving man, but he supposed that that was different. It is one thing to be around family and another to be around a woman whom you are interested in. But, was his insecurities that deep that he couldn’t speak to a woman? Let alone, date again because of one failed relationship? What did Ned find so crippling about talking to women? Why did he have such an aversion to rejection whether it was big or small?

Was he afraid to try again? Was Ned content with his life as his mother said? Robb had to admit that his uncle didn’t look lonely, but maybe he put on a strong front around family and began to feel truly lonely when he was alone by himself. Although his uncle seemed to shut people down when they asked about his dating life or, lack thereof, Robb pondered if anyone really tried to have an honest conversation with Ned. Or if they just asked a question or two and just left it alone.

“I’m hardly young or what anyone would label as dashing,” Ned said self-deprecatingly before looking at the floor.

“Ned, you may be an old soul, but you are definitely a young man,” Catelyn offered as she gave him a warm smile. “Forty-two is not old.”

“Is forty the new thirty,” he joked. “So tell me: how would you respond if I said that to you?”

Catelyn chuckled to herself. “Like wine, I only get finer with age.” 

“Getting older doesn’t bother you?” Ned wore an amused expression.

“Sometimes,” she admitted. “But, when you are a mother of five and your oldest is twenty, you don’t really feel young; being a parent ages you. You come to terms with being old, relatively speaking.” Ned raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Oh, shut up.”

She poured her coffee in the sink, and then took her male companions cups. 

“I wasn’t done yet,” Ned laughed. 

“Yes, you are,” she replied. “Don’t you have some running to do?”

“Oh, I see I’ve been dismissed.” Ned grabbed a couple of grapes and a bottle of water out of the fridge. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

“Mind if I join you,” Robb asked. “I’ll be dressed in no time”

“Fine,” Ned said as he briefly stretched his arms. “I’m slightly behind schedule and I have to take my meds when I get back, so you really do have to make it quick.”

Robb quickly changed his clothes and joined his uncle for a run outside. As they ran, Robb could see that his uncle was out of shape, but slowly getting back into form. Ned was winded and was tired sooner than he would usually be before the accident. He didn’t seem uncomfortable or struggled with any pain as a result of his injuries.

The temperature felt great and Robb realized how much he missed running in Winterfell. It was so beautiful and relaxing. He was contemplating moving back here after he graduated from college. Winterfell had some great nursing schools, so Jeyne’s nursing education wouldn’t suffer if they moved to Winterfell. First, he would have to bring her here to have her get a feel of his hometown. She always said that he spoke so fondly of it and that she wanted to visit—Robb could make that happen. Of course, this was after he broke the news about having a wife and kid on the way, which he could only put off for so long.

He doubt his father would make a big fuss about it or a fuss at all; it was his mother he was worried about as he explained to Jeyne before he left. His siblings would have varied reactions, but they wouldn’t make a huge deal of it. Well, Sansa would, but for different reasons. She would first take their mother’s stance before asking why didn’t he tell her sooner, and then would try to genuinely get to know Jeyne. Ned was a different story: he would acknowledge the importance of doing the honorable thing all while being supportive of Robb.

Ned and Robb doubled back and walked the last ten minutes home. 

“You know, it’s good seeing you; you don’t come home often enough,” Ned said as he tried to control his breathing. 

“Been busy,” he offered as a way of explanation.

Ned slightly shook his head before taking a sip of water. “Well, hopefully not too busy.” A moment of silence passed between the two. “I remember college; I used to spend so much time cooped up in my room studying or working that Robert had to force me to start going with him to parties.”

“I thought uncle Robert dragged you to parties all of the time in high school?” Robb took the bottle of water from his uncle and took a big gulp before handing it back.

A hearty chuckle escaped Ned. “You mean boarding school,” he corrected. “And, yes. Even back then, I wasn’t comfortable at parties or in large social gatherings, but Robert was my closest friend, so I went with him; he was always trying to break me out of my shell. But, we had some good times,” he sighed. “Once, college rolled around, I didn’t want anything to distract me from my studies, so I swore off parties, but that didn’t stick for long with Robert and your dad attending the same college as me.”

Robb smiled at the thought of his dad, uncle Ned and Robert all going to the same college and the shenanigans they got into. His father frequently told him stories of their adventures together. One would think that Brandon and Robert would be best friends because of their similar personalities rather than Ned and Robert, but that wasn’t the case. His uncle had speculated as well as Brandon and Robert got along, there was a thing called too much of something—both the good and the bad. Ned’s presence balanced Robert and added some spice to his own life. 

Then there was aunt Lyanna. 

As much as his dad liked Robert, Brandon thought that Robert wasn’t good enough for his sister. Robb believed his uncle Ned’s observation of his father feelings were apt when he said it was because “they were birds of the same feather.” At the same time, it was more complex than that. Robert had developed a thing for Lyanna back when he was nineteen and she was fifteen. The Stark family chalked up it to Robert being infatuated with her because of her beauty, flirty attitude, and rebellious nature.

Although Robert was incredibly interested in Lyanna, he understood that he had to wait two years before he could ask her out. Unsurprisingly, she agreed to go out with him and everything was going fine until Lyanna found out that Robert had a kid on the way. Although his daughter was conceived before they got together, it didn’t sit well with Lyanna (or Brandon) that Robert claimed to love her and knock up another woman. By chance, she met Rhaeger Targaryen, a married man with two kids who took her breath away. Lyanna hadn’t planned on having an illicit affair with him, but upon first sight, he had heart her completely from that moment on.

Lyanna broke up with Robert and Rhaeger served his wife divorced papers. Within a few months she was pregnant with his cousin Jon. Robert was devastated and begged for Lyanna to come back to him. Despite him fathering a child before they got together, he claimed to have been faithful to her and would even love her son as his own if she returned. His pleas fell on deaf ears and Lyanna and Rhaeger got married shortly after his divorced was finalized. His ex-wife, Elia, got a pretty big settlement from the divorce, but it wasn’t enough to her. She hated Rhaeger, but loathed Lyanna; all of his fortune wouldn’t be enough to dispel her ill feelings of them and their selfishness. 

As the years started to progress, something had changed—matured—in Lyanna. She began to view her love with Rhaeger in a different light and questioned her feelings for her husband. Had she really been in love with him? Rhaeger shared similar passions, was intelligent, and had a way with words, but Lyanna was curious about her motivations when she was younger. Was it really because their love was written in the stars or was she trying to rebel against Westeros society? Although she had liked Robert, her feelings for him were not nearly the same as his for her. Despite her young age, she could see their families pushing them together and hated it. But, she liked Robert, so she dated him and, yet; she couldn’t help but to feel suffocated as she saw her life being planned without her consent.

The change started shortly after Robert’s divorce from Cersei Lannister; they bumped into one another at a restaurant. Robert was coming from a business dinner and Lyanna was having dinner with Rhaeger. Rhaeger had excused himself to answer a business call when Robert happened to walk past her. 

“Robert,” she stated plainly. He looked tempted to walk away from her, but held her gaze instead.

“I don’t know how to quit loving you,” he rasped. “I wish I could—I wish I knew how.”

Lyanna searched for the words to express her sorrow. How could she explain what being with Rhaeger made her feel?

All she had was, “I’m sorry.”

Robert picked up Lyanna’s champagne glass and downed the rest of her drink.

“No one ever thought I was good enough for you,” he said before he looked into the bottom of the glass. “No one, not even Ned, my own best friend. But, none of that matter just as long as you loved me,” he whispered as he solemnly stared at his ex-girlfriend. “And, at one point in time, I swore you did. Remember the night I fucked you in my truck? It was after that fight I had got into at the football game and that jackass was trying to hit on you. I thought you would’ve been heated because you said I lost my temper over anything and everything, especially when it came to you. But, you pulled me to the car and ripped my clothes off—you wanted me so badly. After we were done you said, ‘Ours is the Fury’”.

Lyanna remembered that night—she remembered it very clearly. Robert may not remember doing it, but she recalled how he tried to keep his emotions in check and not deck the guy for even looking at her. Then, when he began to cross the line, Robert decided to interfere. Even then, he kept his emotions in check before the guy tried to swing on him and Robert completely lost him temper from there. After he had beat the guy’s ass, he said that he would do it again in a heart beat even if he got kicked off the football team and suspended from school. No one was allowed to disrespect his girl. No one. 

Robert’s initial restraint, and the loss of control sparked something within her. It made her want him in a way that she hadn’t wanted him before or any boy up to that point. She had to have him at that moment, so she did.

“Then, you found out about Mya.” Robert scratched his beard before harshly rubbing his face. “It’s funny how you couldn’t forgive me for having a child before we were together, but you knowingly had an affair with a married man. You let a married man with a kid and a pregnant wife pursue you; he was somehow a better man than me—more worthy of your love than I was. Sure, I fucked around while I was single, but I never cheated on you. And somehow, you still used that against me, but Rhaeger was a man with a family and you marry him and have his child? You couldn’t take a chance on me, but you took a chance on a married man and ruined another woman’s life because you wanted her husband so badly…. when you first broke up with me, I thought you were afraid of loving me. I thought that the thought of me being with another woman hurt you so bad that you couldn’t stand the thought of me cheating on you, so you left before I could hurt you. Now, I know you never loved me. Not even a little bit. You could stand by Rhaeger, but you couldn’t stand by me. People say that Ned is the cold one, but I doubt he could ever be as far as cold as you.”

Without a further word, Robert left.

Lyanna knew he was hurt and it just wasn’t by her, but Cersei as well. Robert may have not loved her, but he didn’t expect her pass another man’s kids off as his own—her brother’s at that.

From that point on, Lyanna found herself trying to make amends with Robert. She wanted to prove to him that he was wrong about her and the assessment of their relationship. Initially, she didn’t understand why it was so important to her, but eventually, she realized she didn’t want to view herself as a cold person. She wasn’t a cold person.

Robert was reluctant to let her back into his life, but he did. There was an obvious change in his demeanor. He wasn’t angry all of the time and smiled way more. Lyanna found it that she enjoyed being in Robert’s presence and it was difficult to pull herself away from him. 

When she realized that she had fallen in love with her ex-boyfriend, it came as no surprise. Robert was both right and wrong about her; she did love him all of those years ago, but she was afraid—she just hadn’t realized it yet. Lyanna didn’t immediately act on her feelings, actually, she hadn’t plan to at all. But, Rhaeger sensed the change in her and asked her about it. Lyanna was honest and explained how she was suppressing her feelings to no avail, which her husband then proposed that they have a trial of separation so she could get those feelings out of her system. He said that if she were his, she would come back.

She goes by Baratheon now.

Robb doubt that he could ever top what his aunt Lyanna did. Having an affair, and then marrying his uncle Rhaeger was and still is the hugest Scandal in Westeros history, but divorcing her husband and getting back with Robert was also a huge scandal. 

No one ever told him the full story; over the years he had pieced information together after verifying the facts that he knew. Some of it was already out there, but the other information he had gathered from his family the few times it was brought up around him, which wasn’t much. 

“I can’t image you in college breaking loose and getting into shit with Dad and Uncle Robert,” Robb said as he looked at his uncle.

Ned chuckled. “It’s good that you can’t imagine me any other way; when you’re young, you have to get that stuff out of your system, and then focus on being a responsible adult. I knew when I got older that I’d be too old to do the reckless things I did as a youth. So, I got it over with rather than having a midlife crisis, and then trying to recapture my youth.”

For a moment, Robb looked at the sidewalk, then straight ahead at nothing in particular. 

“Dad says that you were always far too serious as a teen and, even when they tried to loosen you up, you were always the adult---the most responsible one of the three.” 

In response, Ned smiled. “Your father isn’t wrong,” he supplied. “People are built a certain way and I just wasn’t built like your father or Robert, for that matter. For most people, there is a middle ground where they can somewhat stray away from the essence of which they are and still enjoy themselves. But, if they stray too far, it’s no longer enjoyable. I knew my limits, which is why I could never lose myself completely.”

“Sometimes I think I know my limits and other times I think I’m just afraid of what is out there once I cross them,” Robb said cryptically. “Maybe limits are really fences that prohibit you from being the person you are truly meant to be. Like a cage that is unlocked, but you don’t know it or a rope tethered to a plastic chair—you give it power that it really doesn’t have.”

“You know, Robert said a similar thing when I questioned him about his drinking before he became an alcoholic,” Ned stated. “He’s been sober a while now, but that is to say: there are certain limits you can’t cross because it will destroy you…. generally speaking, of course.”

Robb nodded.

“Race you home?” Robbed jerked his head in the direction of the house.

Ned waved Robb off as he chuckled. “Despite what your mother says, I’m not a young man anymore. You go ahead.”

Momentarily Robb jogged backwards as he saluted his uncle, and then ran home.


End file.
